Once You've Had the Best, Better Ain't As Good
by lamujergris
Summary: Follow along as Lily Potter and Scorpius Malfoy build a relationship starting as teenagers at Hogwarts. Includes various POV and other characters ••• This is a prequel/re-write of my old story, Make It Up As We Go. It will have the same characters but the storyline will be slightly different. May not be written in chronological order, so each chapter will be labeled by date.


**October 31, 2023**

"Lily. Lily. Helloooooo. Earth to Lily. LILY!"

Lily Potter jumped, and the spoon in her right hand banged loudly against her cereal bowl. She turned her head around to face her cousin Dominique, who was sitting across the Gryffindor table at breakfast. "Sorry."

"You were having a major moment there, Lil. What's so interesting at the Slytherin table?" Dominique smirked, and Lily felt her face grow hot as blood flushed to her cheeks.

"Nothing." She mumbled, raising a spoonful of cereal to her lips. In fact, she had been staring at Scorpius Malfoy. In one of her now-often fantasies, Scorpius was her boyfriend, coming over to kiss her before heading off to his classes…

Scorpius was a seventh year NEWT student with her brother, Albus. Lily adored him, and it seemed like he was the only one who didn't know. Scorpius had come to spend the Easter holiday with the Potters during his and Albus's first year at Hogwarts, and Lily had been so intimidated by him she could barely speak the entire weekend. He had striking looks – light blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, tan skin. He was from a well known, dark wizard family. He was in Slytherin House. To 10 year old Lily, he was fascinating and mysterious.

The intrigue didn't end there. Over the years, Scorpius had spent a good amount of time with the Potter family, and Lily got to know him better. As she got older, she started to imagine what it would be like to get married to Scorpius someday – a totally embarrassing childhood fantasy. Lily was somewhat disappointed when she was sorted into Gryffindor when she began at Hogwarts, though she would never admit that to anyone, least of all Albus. While proud to represent her family in Gryffindor House, a small part of her longed for the time that could have been spent in the Slytherin common room with Scorpius.

There was nothing special about today. Scorpius was merely sitting at the end of the breakfast table alone, looking across the room at the gloomy grey morning outside the window. His green and silver striped tie was loosened around his neck, and the top button of his white shirt was unbuttoned. His hair was messy, and his appearance gave the overall impression that he didn't really care about anything.

For Lily, Scorpius was the standard against whom all other boys were measured. Her cousins had dated boys, and all the girls in the Gryffindor dormitory would stay up late into the night talking about who they thought was cute and who they wished would ask them to spend the day together in Hogsmeade. Lily always listened intently and offered advice, but never told the other girls who she wished would ask HER to spend the day in Hogsmeade.

Everyone knew, though. Dominique had guessed it first. Lily and Dominique were joined at the hip from the moment they started Hogwarts. They had always been cousins, but Dominique's parents traveled for their work with Gringott's Bank, so the two girls hadn't been as close during their childhood. However, once they got on the Hogwarts Express, they had been inseparable. Both girls were sorted into Gryffindor, and while they had their similarities, they also had their differences. Both were the youngest daughters in families of three children: Lily's brother James was four years older than her, Albus two; Dominique's eldest sister Victoire was eight years older than her, her brother Louis five. They were both loving, compassionate, and fiercely protective of their families.

Both girls were strikingly beautiful. Dominique was part-Veela, and her waist length hair was wavy and silver-blonde; it sparkled in the right light. Her eyes were almost violet – not quite blue and not quite grey. She was tall and thin, and walked with the air of someone who knew that she always had the attention of the room. But while Dominique was outwardly confident, she struggled with the internal insecurity of never living up to the expectations of her parents. Her sister Victoire was the golden child, and Dominique never felt that she could compete. Her mother in particular put a lot of pressure on her, and nothing was ever easy for Dominique. She wasn't quite as book smart as her more gifted relatives, and so she often tried to overcompensate by being the most popular, the best looking, or the most flirtatious.

In contrast, Lily was the type of girl who didn't realize how attractive she was. Her auburn hair was several shades darker than the ginger that was typically associated with the Weasleys. She had alabaster skin and bright green eyes – a trait that she had inherited from her grandmother and namesake, Lily Evans Potter. The eyes of many students at Hogwarts – male and female alike – followed Lily wherever she went, and not because she was the daughter of the most famous wizard on the planet. But Lily didn't notice. She was timid and shy and rarely gave herself enough credit for anything. But, in contrast to Dominique, Lily felt totally at ease about her place in the world and in her family. The Potters were loving and tight-knit; all three children were showered with adoration by their parents, and no one played favorites. James and Albus bickered as siblings do, playing practical jokes on each other and making sarcastic remarks, but at the end of the day Lily knew that her brothers would do anything for each other, and for her. Sure, Albus had gone through a tough time when he came out as gay a few years ago, but everyone in the family had supported him, and so had Scorpius…

Ah yes, back to Scorpius. It always seemed to come back to Scorpius for her. Lily's eyes followed him as he packed his bag, slung it lazily over his shoulder, and walked out of the room. Lily sensed that something was bothering him, he had a bit of a frown on his face.

It wasn't long before she found out why. After breakfast, as Lily and Dominique were packing their bags and preparing to leave for class, their cousin Rose approached the table. Rose was unassuming and bookish. She struggled with social cues, but had a good heart. No one in the family had been surprised when she was sorted into Ravenclaw; they were less surprised when she achieved nine Outstanding OWLs and was named Head Girl.

"Lily, can I speak with you?" Rose asked, a bit breathless. Lily nodded, and Dominique stopped in the doorway to wait for her. "I have a huge favor to ask. Although maybe not as big of a favor than it would be if I were asking anyone else." She grinned. "Scorpius and I were just told by Professor Sprout that we would need to monitor the halls tonight during the Halloween feast. Downside to being Head Boy and Head Girl – we can't participate in the festivities, but have to make sure everyone else is behaving. The problem is, I have the first part of my practical Transfiguration NEWT tomorrow morning, and I really can't miss the time studying tonight. Professor Sprout said I can get out of it if I could find someone to take my place, but they have to be a Prefect. I would ask one of my Ravenclaw girls, but since it would be some alone time with Scorpius, I figured I'd ask you first—"

"I'll do it." The words were out of Lily's mouth before she really registered the thought. Of course she would do it. She didn't even care about the knowing look Dominique was giving her from the doorway, or the giggle coming out of Rose's mouth.


End file.
